Second Time Around
by lovinUdeeply
Summary: okay, this is the sequel to my first fanfic "ANGEL WATCHING." But really to understand this new fanfic you should have read the first one otherwise it might not make a lot of sense. This is about Sean and Manny...ten year high school reunion!
1. Returning To Where It Had All Began

BAM…Emma appeared, as real as ever, but only in his memory…'"Sean, I have leukemia"…BAM, another flashback, again centered around Emma…"The treatments, they haven't been effective…There's nothing they can do"…BAM! Sean saw himself this time…he was in a rage…"No, no I will not just wait here for it to happen while the doctors don't do a damn thing about it!"'…Suddenly, his memory flew even farther back into his archive of horrible memories and retrieved a dark one, the thing that has haunted Sean even more than Emma's death…the one that he tried to always keep pushed into the very back corner of his mind…but while he slept, his dreams were not merciful...BAM…they came in glimpses…horrible visions…Sean saw Craig sitting on the washroom floor…BAM…Craig with the knife to his chest…BAM…Next was blood seeping from Craig's dead body…And finally Sean saw himself curled up in a quivering ball on the cold floor next to Craig.

Sean wanted to escape it. He thrashed in his seat. Sean uttered one word…"Craig…" He awoke with a start.

"Hey man," his short neighbor in seat 25K said, "you need to put your seat belt on. The captain just turned on the sign." Sean wiped the sweat off of his brow. "Yeah, thanks."

Despite the seatbelt sign, Sean got up and went into the cramped plane bathroom. He turned the deadbolt and then turned on the sink. Sean wet a paper towel and blotted it over his face to cool himself. He hated when he had those dreams. They used to come quite frequently, but had subsided over the years. The only reason that Sean could think of for the sudden occurrence was the fact that he was on a plane heading for Toronto, the very place he had always wanted and sometimes needed to escape. But he figured that like you only have one first love or one best friend, you also only have one ten-year high school reunion. Sean thought back to the dream and prayed in his mind that they would not be haunting him often now. The beginning with Emma was not always the same…but it was his distorted memory of it. But the images of Craig…those were real and as clear as the very day that Sean had witnessed them. Whenever he had the visions of Craig, it was like someone was showing him a slideshow of all the terrible moments in his life. It was a slideshow that could never be turned off.

"You need to return to your seat now, please." The stewardess knocked on the door. Sean took one last look at himself before sliding the folding door open. He sat in his cramped seat and slid the metal buckle into the holder. His eyes ached in tiredness but Sean did not dare to close his eyes again for fear of reliving another bad memory. Sean leaned back into his seat and stared at the ceiling.

Sean had not been back to Toronto since the first day he had left after high school. He was the typical student and did what a normal teen should do. In the beginning it was hard because he had just lost his best friend and girl friend in a three-month time. So once the summer was over and high school had finally started, Sean was alone. He did fall in with a bad crowd for a while. Sean did some things that at the time he thought was funny, but now are on a long list of things that he regrets. Fortunately, Sean got out of his rut but not without being shot by the leader of the gang, Jay.

Sean was rushed to the hospital and suffered from a major loss of blood. It was at that time where Sean did not care if he died. In fact, he had almost hoped to die. The way he saw it was that at least he would be with Emma and Craig. Sean lied in bed and counted the minutes he had left. This was not his preferred way to die, but it would have to do. Sean could still remember the intense surge of disappointment that he had felt when the doctors had informed him that he would be okay. Even now there were times during which Sean wished that the shot had killed him. There were several times throughout high school that he had either tried or thought about taking his own life. But every time that he came close, Sean had those same horrific flashbacks of Craig.

After Sean had gotten back on track, he showed an interest in photography. He had needed a hobby to keep his mind off of things and there was Craig's camera, still in good condition. Sean did not know at the time that just by picking up that camera he was choosing his future career. He loved to take pictures, mostly of nature and landscapes but sometimes, if he were truly inspired, he would snap a few human shots. Sean still used Craig's camera today. He believed that it symbolized the good, artistic side of Craig…the side that he wanted to remember. With every snap of the shutter and every photo developed, Sean felt that he was giving art and beauty to the community that it had been devoid of because of Craig's bad day.

There was a deeper meaning to all of his nature shots, one that was only known to him. Emma's intense passion for the environment and preserving it had made Sean appreciate the nature around him. For you see, Emma had been Sean's intense passion and she could not be preserved, she had died, just like the environment would if nobody did anything to help. His cause had been to keep Emma alive and hers had been to help save the environment as much as she could. Sean had failed his personal cause but he could fulfill hers if he tried. All of Sean's nature photos were taken while he was on the environmental crusades that he participated in, in honor of Emma.

"Please fasten your seatbelts. The captain is preparing to land." Sean braced himself for the landing but as he closed his eyes he was also preparing himself for the return to Toronto, where it had all began.

Sean walked with his bag into the main lobby. He set down his suitcase and stood awkwardly, scanning the room.

"Sean!" He turned around for the source and his eyes landed on a beautiful young woman with long flowing black hair. She smiled at him, her teeth gleaming white. It was a friend who had gone through all those terrible ordeals alongside Sean all those years ago. Manny Santos pushed her very pregnant self from her chair and walked over to Sean. He embraced her in a gentle hug, somewhat surprised by her physical state, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey Manny…Wow you look…"

"Pregnant?" She finished his sentence for him, "Yeah, I know. I'm due in two weeks."

Sean stared at her aghast. "Well…you forgot to mention this on the phone!" he joked.

"Yeah, well I didn't want you to get the wrong idea about me and…the situation." She chose her words carefully.

"Well, Manny, my basic assumption would be that you're married…"

Manny cut him off, "See, that's what I mean. I'm not married. Divorced actually. And the father doesn't want the baby."

"Oh…I see. Manny, if you don't mind me asking, who is the father?"

"Umm…" Manny hesitated, "do you remember Sully? We went out for most of high school? Yeah, well right when we got out, he took me to Atlantic City and we got married." Sean raised his eyebrows at her. "It was an impulse thing." She replied. "Anyway, it worked for a while but he turned out to be a dead beat. Then I got pregnant and he left me." Manny said, strained.

Sean looked surprised. How could anyone leave Manny? She was so beautiful. "Well, he's an idiot who was just in it for the sex if you don't mind me saying."

Manny laughed, "No, I agree."

"So this is your first?" Sean asked her.

"Yep. A girl!" Manny answered happily. The look on her face suddenly changed. She looked close to tears.

"Manny, what's wrong?" Sean asked confusedly.

"Oh nothing. I'm just so glad that you're here, Sean!" And with that she flung her arms around his neck again. Sean held her tight this time. Sean and Manny really had become much more close during high school because they had both experienced the same great loses.

"Hey," Sean said soothingly, "I'm glad I'm here too. I wanted to see you, Manny." Manny sniffed her nose and pulled away.

"So, do you want to get something to eat? At the Dot maybe?"

"God, is that place still open?" Sean joked. "Yeah lets go. I'm starving." Sean placed his hand on Manny back and lightly pushed her from the building. Sean drove Manny's car to the Dot. Toronto had not changed much since he had last been there. He could still easily find his way around. Sean parked the car and he and Manny hurried across the street to the diner. They were seated and each made their order.

"Oh, I forgot to order a drink." Manny said, annoyed with herself.

"It's okay, I'll go get the drinks. What will you have?" Sean asked.

Manny smiled, "A water would be great. Thanks, Sean."

Sean got up slowly and kept his eyes locked on her smile for as long as he could. He walked over to the counter and rang the bell twice. The waiter was arranging drinks in the cooler and his back was to Sean.

"Yeah?" he called over his shoulder.

"Can I get two waters, please?" Sean replied casually.

"Sure." The waiter grabbed the waters and turned around. "Here you…" The waiter stopped suddenly. He didn't notice both bottles of water slip from his hands.

Sean's eyes bulged. He had not expected him ever to come back to Toronto after what he had done…he had not seen him since that day. Sean stared stonily into the face of his older brother, Tracker.


	2. Long Time Coming

They both stood there stunned. Manny walked up behind Sean to the counter to see what was taking so long. She put her hand lightly on the small of Sean's back, breaking his trance.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked Sean quietly. When Sean did not respond Manny turned and saw what he was staring so intently at.

She gasped, "Oh my God!"

"Sean…" Tracker began to say, but Sean only grabbed Manny's hand and dragged her out of the diner. "Wait, Sean!" Tracker yelled. He ran out from behind the counter and went out the door after his younger brother. He caught Sean's arm and pulled him around.

"Sean, please, can we talk?" Tracker asked him desperately. Sean violently pulled his arm free of Tracker's grip. "Fine," Sean said coldly, "talk."

"I don't really know what to say…" Tracker said, "I guess that I'm sorry…"

"For what? Beating the absolute shit outta me and then disappearing for the rest of my life?" Sean said, fourteen years of anger and hatred toward this man pulsing through his body. He had been waiting a long time to confront Tracker about this and now that he had him here Sean wasn't going to make it pleasant.

"I know, I am so, so sorry. I've thought about it everyday and the guilt…"

"The guilt," Sean interrupted, "was obviously not enough to make you come back. I mean, why didn't you? I was your brother, man!"

"I, I don't know…I guess…" Tracker rambled.

"You know," Sean began, "If Manny here hadn't of found me then I probably would have died before someone came to the house looking for me!"

Tracker rolled his eyes. "Sean, don't be so dramatic. In no way, no how, would you have died."

Manny's eyes widened in disbelief. She could not believe how lightly he was talking about this. Sean gritted his teeth. "Really. Tracker, I couldn't move, I was blacking out, there was a big gash on my head and I was loosing blood fast. You didn't just do a little damage."

Tracker stumbled over his words, "Yeah…well, all the same…I doubt that you would have died. Someone would have come looking for you. What was her name…Emma! Wouldn't she have come looking for you?" Tracker changed the subject, "How is she by the way? Still together maybe?"

Sean hated to hear Tracker say Emma's name. He didn't like how it sounded coming out of Tracker's mouth. "She's dead. She died that summer of cancer."

Tears glided down Manny's cheeks. The mention of her deceased best friend always made her eyes sting. Sean wiped a tear quickly from his cheek.

"Sean," Tracker replied in his fake concern voice, "I'm so sorry. I know that you guys were really close. But hey," he then flashed his nasty smile at Manny, "it looks like you found someone else."

"We're not dating." Manny said.

"Oh…well you're going to be a father then, huh, Sean!" Tracker said, slapping Sean on the side of the arm. Sean gave him a look of the most grotesque hate.

"No…it's not Sean's baby." Manny replied, embarrassed.

"Oh," Tracker said again, trying not to laugh. He could tell that Manny was not married. His face broke into that same nasty grin, "So what, you're just a girl who got knocked up then?" His sleazy smile made Manny sick.

"That's it!" Sean got up in Tracker's face and punched him hard in the face. Tracker fell hard to the ground and stayed down. Sean grabbed Manny's hand and pulled her to the car. Sean had not felt so good in a while. Hitting Tracker had been Sean's way of closure. Now, he would never have to think about that bastard again. He got what he had wanted since the day that Tracker left.

Once in the car driving to Manny's, Sean spoke lightly, "Manny, hey I'm really sorry about that. He shouldn't have said that to you. It was rude and uncalled for…and he doesn't know your story."

Manny waved her hand casually. "Don't worry about it. He's just like Sully. I don't listen to him anyways." Sean looked over at her profile. He could tell from her face that she was not completely okay with what had gone down, despite what she said.

"Manny," Sean began, but Manny cut him off, finally telling him what was truly on her mind.

"I know how people look at me. I'm nine months pregnant and I don't have a ring on my finger. They all make the same assumption." She looked over at him and their eyes met briefly before he turned his gaze back to the road ahead.

After some time Sean replied, "Well, they're all idiots. They don't know you or your story. It's not like you're some teen who got pregnant from your boy friend. You're an adult with a great big heart and you were married. It's not like you could have made Sully stay. Although, if you don't mind me saying, I'm glad that he's gone. You're much too good for him, Manny." He gave Manny a reassuring look. "Yeah…" Manny sighed, unconvinced.

They arrived at Manny's apartment. It was in the same building that Jimmy Brooks used to live in. "Does he still live there?" Sean asked, remembering back to a certain party that had occurred there.

"His parents do so he comes around every once in a while." They reached her door and she stuck the key in the lock. "I think that the last time I saw him was last year at Sully's reunion. You know what's weird? Even though Craig has been gone for years, I still expected to see him there. You could say I was hoping for it, I guess."

Tear leaked to the corners of Manny's eyes. "That's not weird." Sean replied, "I'm sure that I would have done the same thing."

Manny sat herself on the couch and started to cry. Sean sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "It's okay." He said, trying to calm her down.

"Sorry." Manny said. "Pregnancy hormones. I cry if I put my shoes on the wrong feet these days." She gave a weak laugh.

"That's okay." Sean whispered. They looked at each other intently. Their faces were only inches apart…there was only one thing left to do. Sean went slowly in, so did Manny. Their lips met for a brief second before Sean pulled quickly away.

"I'm sorry." He said, getting to his feet and walking around to the back of the couch. Manny turned around to talk to him.

"Don't be," Manny replied, "It was nice."

"Yeah…yeah it was. But Manny your pregnant with another man's baby…and you said it before…hormones!" Truth be told was that Sean had liked that kiss way too much for his comfort.

Manny stood up, "That wasn't because of the pregnancy or hormones. It's because I wanted to. I have for a while. Trust me Sean, it's been a long time coming…for me at least."

Sean couldn't lie to himself, he had been tempted to kiss her since he first stepped off of the plane. He acted on impulse. Sean walked over to Manny and got very close. He put his hands on either side of her head and kissed her passionately. The last kiss that he had ever had that was so good was with Emma. EMMA, he thought. How could he just forget about Emma? Sean quickly pulled away again.

"I'm sorry Manny, I want to, but I can't."

"Come on, Sean, why not?" Manny asked.

"Because…because of Emma, okay. I haven't wanted to be with someone so much since Emma and…and it scares me, I guess." Sean said hurriedly.

"Sean, Emma's gone. It's been a really long time…you need to move on with your life." Manny said exasperatedly.

"What do you mean? I have moved on with my life. I have my job and…" Sean said defiantly. Manny cut him short.

"I mean with your love life, Sean. As much as it pains me to say it, Emma's not coming back…neither is Craig." Manny said sadly.

"I never said anything about Craig…" Sean said suspiciously.

"I know." Manny said quietly. "I needed to hear myself say it." There was a hint finality in her tone.


	3. Revisiting The Past

Sean was unpacking his light suitcase when Manny appeared in the doorway of his room.

"Hey." Sean said, acknowledging her presence.

"Hey. So how long exactly are you planning on staying?" Manny asked.

Sean stopped what he was doing and took a good look at her. Manny had a slight look of guilt about her. "Oh, don't worry, the day after the reunion I'll be on the next flight back to New Jersey." Sean turned his attention back to his personal items.

"Oh." Manny replied. Sean looked up again. There it was once again…that guilty look. Manny seemed to be thinking about what to say next. "Are you sure that you don't want to stay a little longer?"

Sean didn't really need time to think about that answer. "Well, no Manny, I don't want to be a bother. Why?"

"Nothing…it's just I was hoping that you might stay longer. You wouldn't be a bother, I like the company. But don't worry about it, it's no big deal." Manny said casually.

Sean thought about it. There really wasn't any rush to get back to his house. "Okay…like how much longer?" he asked as he unpacked Craig's old camera.

When no response came right away, Sean turned his gaze to her. She looked mildly embarrassed. "Manny?"

"Well," she struggled to get the words out, "I was thinking…more hoping, I guess, that you would stay until my baby is born. Of course you don't have to. I mean I don't want you to feel obligated or something because you shouldn't…it just would be nice to have someone there for me."

Sean now felt angry with himself that he had pushed her to tell him. Manny was right…he did feel obligated. But it wasn't really fair for her to ask that of him…especially when she just springs it on him like that. But Sean did not want to be rude and refuse. "Manny…"

Manny cut him off. By his tone she knew what was coming. "Sean, forget that I asked. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine by myself. I mean, I've done the whole pregnancy alone…so you don't have to stay for me."

Hearing her say that was a stab of guilt right in his heart. Sean picked up Craig's camera and started to fiddle with the zoom. He decided that something needed to be said, so Sean did the first thing that he could think of. Sean held the camera up to his eye and pointed it at Manny. "Smile!"

Right away Manny turned her back and started to walk away, waving her arms as she went. "No, Sean, not now, I look awful and fat!" Sean followed her across the apartment and got her cornered. He put his hands on her belly and felt the baby kick. He spoke softly to her.

"You look pregnant and beautiful." Manny liked the feeling of his hands on her stomach and was mildly disappointed when he took a step back. He held up the camera again. Sean captured a shot of Manny with both hands placed on her bulging belly. "Beautiful." He said aloud to himself. "Truly inspired."

"Hey, lets go out to dinner tonight!" Manny said. She seemed to have forgotten all about their previous talk. "You can tell me all about living in New Jersey."

"Okay great." Sean said, grabbing his jacket. They drove to a very nice Chinese restaurant.

"I'll have the vegetable delight." Manny said, handing her menu to the waitress.

"Yeah, so will I." Said Sean, following the suit.

Manny took a sip of her water. "So…what's it like living in New Jersey?"

"It's nice." Sean replied. "I like it a lot. I actually have myself a nice little cabin up in the country."

"Really?" Manny said, somewhat impressed, "I never would have taken you for a country type of guy!" Manny laughed.

Sean laughed too. "Well…what can I say…people change. You didn't expect me to be the same guy that I was in high school, right?" he looked over at her expectantly.

"Well," Manny didn't really know what to say to that, "I don't know I guess that I never thought about it really. I mean, the only Sean that I know was from high school. It's not like when you left that you really kept in contact with me. Besides this now I guess."

Sean looked down at his plate. She seemed to have a way of making him feel extremely guilty without even trying. But he needed to hear these things. Sean knew that he had hurt Manny and it needed to be acknowledged.

"Manny, I know that I didn't. I'm sorry about that. I just…I didn't want to have anything to do with Toronto or Degrassi anymore. I needed my space, I needed to forget about all the horrible things that happened there. Can you understand that?"

Manny nodded with every statement he made. "Yeah, Sean believe me, I know that it was hard for you but…what did I ever do to you? I mean, was I a part of that horrible history? I just don't think that I deserved to be cut off like that."

Sean breathed a sigh. She was good at countering him. "You're right. You never did anything to me. Manny, I'm sorry, I was a stupid kid alright? I mean I…"

Sean sentence faded off in Manny's mind. His lips were moving, but she could not hear a word. There was a slight twinge in her abdomen. She then heard him once again.

"Manny? Manny?"

"Yeah?" She replied, breaking her trance.

"Are you okay, you sort of look flushed."

Manny felt her cheeks…they were hot.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She waved it off.

There was something about that little twinge. As the dinner passed by and Manny continued to listen to Sean's overly repeated apology, the little twinge had turned into a frequent pain. Finally…

"Ahh…" Manny said, grasping her belly. Sean looked nervous.

"Uh…Manny? Manny are you alright?"

There is was again. "No." She replied through gritted teeth.

Sean jumped back in his chair. "Okay, time to leave now!" He hurried to Manny and helped her out of her chair. She had to be practically carried to the car by Sean.

"Are you doing okay?" Sean asked once they reached the car. He hurried around to the other side and hopped into the drivers seat.

"Drive!" was all that Manny said to him.

"Right!" Sean said frantically. Sean drove very fast to the hospital and was sure that he was breaking about fifty laws but he didn't care. The pain in Manny's stomach seemed to be growing.

They rushed Manny into the emergency room. Sean tried to accompany her, but seeing as he was neither the father or kin, he could not. Sean took a seat in the lobby.

Besides worrying about Manny, there were other things on Sean's mind. He had visited this hospital too many times and nothing good had ever come of it. Sean walked to the elevator and punched in the third floor. He walked down a very familiar hallway and stopped dead in front of a wooden door. He looked though the little glass window and saw a little blonde girl of maybe only ten lying in the bed. Sean traveled back in time fourteen years earlier to a day when he had been standing outside of this very door. That had been the last day that he saw Emma. A single tear glided down his cheek.


	4. Attractions

Sean walked slowly back to the lobby. He had barely been sitting for a minute when a nurse wheeled Manny out into clear view. Sean was dumbfounded. He mouthed soundlessly and made strange hand gestures as if to ask why she was still pregnant.

"Hey," Manny said shyly, "False alarm. I'm so, so sorry, Sean." Manny sat very tensely, waiting for his response.

"Oh God, Manny, don't be sorry! I am just so relieved that you and the baby are okay!" He saw Manny's face and stature loosen a bit. "So are you ready to go back to your place?" he asked her.

She smiled. "Yeah. Definitely. Lets get out of here!"

"Okay great." Sean walked around and took the wheelchair from the nurse. "Thanks." He pushed Manny out to the car.

Once back at Manny's…"Oh, I need to lie down!" Manny laughed, "I'm so tired!" She flopped onto the couch and threw her arm dramatically over her eyes.

"Yeah," Sean said slowly, "me too, now that I think about it. It's been a long day."

Manny got up again and pulled off her black sweater and stood in her black spaghetti strap. Her bare shoulders, back, and chest were revealed to Sean and he couldn't help but stare. She caught Sean's eye. Even though her belly was bulging, her skin looked so soft, he wondered what it would be like to caress his hands over her. Manny had not put on really any excess weight during this pregnancy. Her waist was still tiny, her legs still slender.

Sean had an idea of what Manny was trying to do. He decided to play the game. He reached over his back and pulled off his plain white shirt, once much like the ones that he used to wear. Sean was right; Manny couldn't help but look at him now. She was impressed. Sean still managed to keep in very good shape, despite his busy schedule.

Sean caught a glimpse of Manny scanning him. He took it up a notch. "What?" he asked playfully, even though he knew what she was looking at.

"Nothing…" Manny replied mysteriously. That tone of voice was turning Sean greatly on. "Goodnight, Sean…" There it was again. She disappeared into her room and her door snapped shut.

"Sweet dreams." Sean called to her before going into his own room.

Sean and Manny both lay awake, only separated by a thin cheap wall, but it seemed like so much more. There was a certain barrier between them; Sean was still in some ways hung on Emma. She was like a song that he couldn't ever get out of his head. Sean didn't want to forget her, but Manny was right, he needed to move on from this.

Manny turned onto her side, thinking of ways to help Sean. She wanted to give them a shot but since he was leaving in three days…she couldn't stop him and definitely not go with him because of the baby…why, she thought, why did it have to be so complicated? Wasn't it enough that they cared a lot about each other and wanted to be together? Shouldn't that be the easiest thing to establish? Then why were there all of these blockades in their way?

On the other side of the thin wall, Sean was thinking the same thing. He made a promise to himself that night that he would put all those things aside and talk to Manny tomorrow about possibly starting something. Something or someone needed to give Sean that first push and that someone was Manny.


	5. Those Three Little Words

The morning came quickly as Sean was lost in his thoughts. He got out of bed around seven and started looking in the fridge for something to make breakfast with. Sean grabbed five eggs and easily scrambled them. He then made a stack of toast and poured two glasses of orange juice. Sean took all of his concoctions and set them on a tray. Sean carried the tray to Manny's room and entered quietly. He set the tray carefully on the end table and climbed into bed next to Manny. She stirred awake.

"Hey…" She said sleepily while sitting up. She turned to pop her back and saw the breakfast tray sitting innocently on her end table. "What's all this?" Manny asked surprised.

"I made you breakfast in bed." Sean said. He leaned over Manny and carefully grabbed the tray. "Come on, try some!" Sean set the tray in Manny's lap and pulled a fork out of his pocket. "Here you go."

Manny took the fork and held it to her chest. "Ohhh…Sean, thank you! That is so sweet!" She showed Sean her irresistible grin. Manny looked down at the food. "Mmm…it looks great!"

"I hope so…" Sean said. He watched her cautiously as she took the first bite of the eggs. He flinched when the fork made contact with her mouth.

"Mmm, not bad Cameron!" Manny said jokingly.

Sean let out a sigh of relief. "Ah, good, now I can try some!" he said, attempting to get the fork out of Manny's hand.

"Hey! I thought this was for me!" Manny said, pulling the fork out of his reach.

Sean looked intentionally defeated. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Manny flashed him a big, cheesy smile.

She had a piece of egg stuck on her chin. "Manny, you have…" Sean said, making gestures to her chin.

"What?" She asked, wiping her cheeks.

"Here…" Sean said, gently grabbing her chin and brushing the egg lightly off. Sean circled his thumb one last time on her chin before he froze. Now or never, he thought. Sean went in for the kiss and locked lips with Manny. She gave in and they both lied down on the bed, still kissing. Things were getting more intense. Sean tried to wrap his legs around Manny's but instead he knocked over the tray, spilling everything onto Manny's red comforter. They both stopped what they were doing and sat up immediately.

"Oh God…Manny, I'm sorry!" Sean said, hopping out of the bed. Manny followed right after him.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's okay. This won't stain." She grabbed the edges of the comforter and pulled it off of the bed.

"Here, let me help you." Sean said as he grabbed the tray and spilled glasses. Sean carried the glasses and tray into the kitchen and started to wash the items off. Manny soon appeared at his side.

"Hey," she said in an embarrassed voice, "let me help you with those."

"No, no Manny can I talk to you?" Sean said, turning off the water.

"Um…sure. Sounds serious…" She said in a mocking sort of manner.

"Yeah, sort of is." Sean said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the couch. "Okay, Manny, I am really attracted to you."

Manny nodded her head slowly, trying to understand where he was going with this. "And I would really like to give us a shot." He continued. A smile split onto Manny's face. "But…" Her smile faded quickly; she had been worried that there was a 'but' coming. "…but I need to just ask you about a couple things. First, I can't leave Jersey to come live here. It's where my studio and gallery are." Manny didn't like where this was going.

"Sean, I can't leave Toronto. I'm about to have a baby!" Manny said exasperated.

"I know. That's another thing. Will you be okay with having the baby and me?" Manny turned the tables on him.

"Sean, I think the real question is will you be alright taking care of another man's baby? A man that you hate." Manny added.

Sean looked uncomfortable. All that thinking that he had done last night, he had somehow forgotten that this baby that Manny was carrying wasn't his. It was Sully's. He did hate Sully. But Sean remembered what it was like when he just kissed Manny; he loved it, it felt so right.

"Yeah, I'll be fine with it. I can get over it if it means that we can be together."

Another thought hit Manny. "Sean, are you over Emma? Will you…are you going to be able to make a commitment to me? Just because every time we get close, you freak out. I know you love her, so do I, but she's gone. I want to be to be with you, Sean, and I would fight for you, but how am I supposed to fight a ghost?"

Sean tried to think of something to say but he had nothing. "Manny…you have to understand…Emma was my first love. I lost her. And…being back here is just bringing back all of these old feelings and memories. I can't just forget about her. I won't." He finished with a final tone. If she didn't understand that, then there was no way it would work between them.

"I do, Sean, I do understand, trust me, but I can't wait around for you to make up your mind about me. I'm not asking you to forget about her. I don't want to forget about her and I don't want you to either."

Sean looked so lost. "I'll try, Manny, I will. Believe me, Manny please, I don't like feeling like I'm betraying Emma because I think that I love someone else." The word 'love' just shot out of his mouth and it shocked both Manny and Sean. He looked embarrassed.

"Manny, I'm sorry," he began, "I didn't mean to say love. I meant…" Sean chose his words carefully, "care about… a lot."

Manny smiled sheepishly. "It's okay." She set her hand on Sean's knee. "Are you sure that you just care about me? Because I'm not sure myself, about you I mean."

Sean thought about it. Maybe there was a reason that he had said 'love.' Maybe because it was the way that he really felt, not a mistake of words. Sean smiled.

"I meant what I said before. I…I love you Manny." Manny looked on the verge of tears. Her voice was choked.

"I was hoping that it was true." Sean was waiting for her to say it back.

"Wha…" he started.

"I love you too, Sean. I think that I always have, some where in the back of my mind. When we talked those few times on the phone, I wished that you were here. I mean, you left so suddenly and…I always hoped that you would come back." Glistening tears were now flowing freely from Manny's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I never knew that you felt like that because you had Sully." It made perfect sense to Sean. She dated Sully, married him, seemed like she loved him.

"It doesn't matter, I'm just so glad that you're back now though." Manny said, throwing her arms around Sean's neck.

"Yeah, me too." He said, wrapping his arms around her back.


	6. The Reunion

The morning of the reunion was hectic. Sean and Manny kept running around the apartment, either looking for a shoe or a cell phone. Sean was in the middle of buttoning his dress shirt and trying to brush his teeth at the same time when Manny came running into the bathroom. She knocked right into him, spilling toothpaste all down his shirt. Sean looked down at his now stained shirt.

"Dammit." He said, grabbing a tissue from the holder. He wiped hard but it was no good, he would just have to change.

"Sean, I am so sorry!" Manny exclaimed, slapping her forehead in frustration. "Do you need any help?" Manny asked, taking another tissue from the box. She tried to hand it to him.

Sean held out his shirt in front of him and examined the stain. "No, that's okay. I'll just go change." He said, spitting out the rest of his toothpaste into the sink. He rinsed his mouth with water before going into his room to find another suitable shirt.

"God." Manny said, angry with herself. She picked up her eyeliner off of the counter and went back into her room to put on her dress. It was a black spaghetti strap dress, very low back, and had a very low cut swoop neckline. It was a little skimpy for a pregnant woman but it showed off her nice legs and it made Manny feel beautiful again. She grabbed a black pendant necklace off of her vanity and did the clasp around her neck.

Sean searched through his bag for another appropriate shirt. He found a light blue nice dress shirt and put it on quickly.

"Manny, we should probably go now!" Sean called to her from his room. He checked his watch again.

"Okay, I'll be right out!" Manny called as she bent awkwardly over to do the buckles of her strappy black heels. "Okay, I'm ready." Manny said, emerging from her room. Sean turned around and took a good look at her; Manny looked stunning. "Wow." Sean said. "You look amazing."

Manny smiled. "Thanks, but I look fat. No one can look good when their stomach sticks out this far." She said jokingly.

Sean snorted. "You don't look fat at all. You look like you're pregnant, which you are, so it is okay." He explained to her.

"Fat." Manny corrected him. She grabbed her coat off of the rack.

Sean laughed. "Haven't you ever heard that pregnancy is beautiful?" He followed her suit and grabbed his coat.

"Nope." Manny said simply. She laced her fingers around his and pulled him out the door.

"Wait a minute…" Sean said seductively. He kissed Manny…again…and again…

"Okay…we…really…need…to…leave!" Manny finally got out in-between smooches. Sean pulled her into a hug and they both laughed.

"Wow Manny, looks like you found a new guy!" Manny recognized his voice.

"Jimmy!" she squealed, letting go of Sean and embracing Jimmy.

"Hey girl, how are you?" Jimmy asked happily.

"Oh, I'm fine." Manny waved her hand. She didn't want to talk about her right now.

"That's great! Wow! You look amazing! I can't believe that you're having a baby." Jimmy said in an awed voice.

"Yeah, only a couple more weeks!" Manny replied, excited.

"So," Jimmy said, looking up at Sean, "who's your boyfriend? Introduce me!"

Sean smiled at being addressed. "You already know him." Sean said, coming closer. Jimmy stared hard, trying to recognize his face. Sean had pulled his shirt tail up and showed Jimmy his old shot wound. That should jog his memory, Sean thought.

Sean's smile reflected onto Jimmy. Grinning from ear to ear, Jimmy said, "Sean? Sean Cameron!" Sean nodded. "Man, how have you been?" Jimmy asked, practically bouncing.

"I've been good!" Sean replied, half laughing.

"I hope you've been taking good care of my girl here." Jimmy said to him, putting his arm around Manny. "Better than Sully at least. He was not good for her man. There were countless times when Manny came running to my parents place because he wasn't treating her right. Calling her nasty names and stuff like that."

"Jimmy." Manny said, backhanding him in the stomach.

"What?" Sean asked, looking at Manny.

Manny quickly changed the subject. "Sean, we should go. We're already late." She pulled away from Jimmy and put her hand gently on Sean's forearm.

"Oh, where are you guys heading?" Jimmy asked curiously.

"Ten-year reunion! So we will see you later, okay Jimmy. We'll hang out. Go to dinner or something." Manny said, taking Sean's hand in hers.

"Yeah, okay," Jimmy said, "I'll see you guys later." Jimmy walked past Sean and Manny to his parents' apartment.

While in the car, Manny was having some thoughts. Were she and Sean dating? They had not actually been on a real date so is that even possible? Had they gone straight past dating to a solid couple? He had admitted to loving her. That had to count for something. Were they moving too fast?

"Sean," she spoke up, "what are we? Like are we going to this as a couple or friends or people casually seeing each other?"

Sean contorted his face in thought. "I think that...we should keep it low key for now. You said that you didn't want people getting the wrong idea about you and the baby. But I guess if someone asks, we are a couple." He didn't really know how to answer that question without getting himself into trouble.

"Low key." Manny repeated. Did that mean that Sean was embarrassed to be seen with a pregnant unmarried woman? "Okay…"

"Manny," Sean said, interrupting her thoughts, "what was Jimmy talking about earlier? What did Sully do to you? You never told me any of this over the phone."

Manny's tone got a little nasty. There was ten years of resentment behind her answer. "Well I figured that it wouldn't matter to you, being so far away and all…I mean what were you going to do? Hop on a plane and come to my rescue? There was no point in worrying you."

That hit Sean hard. He tried to retaliate, "Manny, why would you think that I wouldn't care? How can you say that after everything we have been through over the years?"

Manny snapped back. "Well you didn't seem to care about what it did to me when you just took off and dropped all contact!"

Sean was surprised by her little outburst. "That's not true! I called you…"

"Yeah, like three years later! Sean, the damage had already been done."

"Manny…" Sean said, exasperated.

Manny cut him short. "I'm sorry. It's just when you think that you're friends with someone and that someone just takes off without one last word of goodbye to you…it hurts."

Sean shook his head. "Manny, I thought that you understood. I needed to leave. I was a stupid guy then anyway. The important thing now is that I'm here now. I promise, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Manny smiled even though she was not thoroughly convinced.

Sean pulled into the parking lot of the Degrassi Community School. He felt old feelings rush back to him. They sat in the car, staring at the old front building.

"Sean? Sean are you ready?" Manny asked. Sean's face was set.

"Yeah, I'm ready…" he said, never taking his eyes from the building.


	7. Facing Your Fears

Sean got slowly out of the car. He walked over to Manny, took her arm, and together they took their first steps back into a Degrassi hallway. Sean stopped and looked, taking it all in. It was literally like walking into a time warp. His surroundings had not changed much since his days there.

Manny stood, her arm linked in his, beaming at everyone and everything. All of the fears that she had been having about coming to the reunion seemed to melt away with every former friend she recognized.

Someone tapped Sean on the shoulder, making him snap back into the present.

"What?" he asked. Sean turned around to look at a short black woman with red square glasses and fly away crinkled hair.

This woman was so very forward that it was almost startling. It could only be one person…"Hello, Liberty Van Zant, you need a name tag. Name please?"

Her promptness was actually intimidating

"Uh…yeah…Sean Cameron. I should be on there." He said, trying to glance at her roll sheet that was attached to her clipboard. Liberty quickly pulled the clipboard closer to her chest so Sean could no longer see.

"Right…" Liberty said, checking his name off of her list. "Here." She said, handing Sean his nametag. "Nice to see you again, Sean."

"Yeah…" Sean said slowly, "you too." He took the tag and stuck it on his chest pocket.

"So," Liberty said, turning to look at Manny, "is this your wife? Because I don't have you down for any guest passes and she…"

Manny cut Liberty off, "Oh no, I should be on there. Manny Santos."

Liberty paused. "Well hello Manny. I haven't seen you in a while. So are you two married?" She had returned to her list, searching for Manny's name.

"Oh, no." Manny said, trying to sound casual and not embarrassed.

With her nose still down at the paper, Liberty said, "So is this a bastard child?"

Manny began to blush profusely. "Well, no…it's not Sean's."

Sean saw Liberty struggle to hide her smirk. "Oh…I see." She was now glaring at Manny in a disapproving way. Manny gave a weak smile, as she was lost for a response. Some things never change, she thought.

"Okay…" Sean cut in, "We'll see you later Liberty. Nice talking to you." He put his arm around Manny's waist and gently led her away.

"Bye." Liberty said before swarming another couple, inquiring for their names.

"Great." Manny said, "Now Liberty thinks I'm some sort of sex whore and she is going to inform everyone of it." The run-in with Liberty seemed to have put a big damper on Manny's good mood.

"Lets just wander, alright? Don't worry about Liberty." Sean said, pulling her closer to him. He led her up and down the familiar hallways. Manny recognized certain people as she walked by. She would smile or wave occasionally, but mostly she kept to herself. There was only one person who she had been really looking forward to seeing at this reunion, and he had his arm around her.

Manny knew that if she talked to anyone then they would ask about the baby and Manny would be forced to tell them her humiliating story. She did not feel like repeating it to everyone. Sean and Manny turned into the cafeteria to get some refreshments. Manny scanned the room, looking for her old classmates.

Her eyes locked on one particular guy sitting at the bar. He looked straight back at her and gave a sleazy smile that made her sick.

"What's wrong?" Sean asked, taking a good look at her horrified expression. "Who is that?"

"It's…it's Sully." Said Manny exasperatedly.


	8. I Want You Back

"What?" Sean said, shocked. "Why he is here?"

Manny looked horrified. "I don't know. Maybe he's here with another girl from our class."

Sean snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that she would love to hear how he abandoned you and left you to have this baby by yourself. That must be a real turn on." Sean said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Manny said, turning to face Sean. She no longer looked scared. Manny actually wore a look of seduction. "Well it doesn't matter because I not going to have the baby by myself anymore. I have you here with me."

Sean smiled and put his arms around her lower back. "That's right. I'm not going to leave until you're completely sick of me."

Manny let out a little giggle. "Oh, I wouldn't count on that happening." She said, lowering her voice just before going in for a kiss. Their lips met briefly but Sean pulled suddenly away.

"What's wrong? I thought we were past that whole thing." Manny was definitely referring to the slight set back that he had caused on account of Emma. But it was not that that had made Sean pull back.

"He's coming over here. Just act natural. Don't worry, I am here." Sean nodded his head reassuringly.

"Oh, no Sean, lets leave…" Manny said anxiously.

"Hey Manuella." Sully's voice said behind her. Sean saw Manny's eyes widen. They pleaded at Sean to leave but Sean just stared right back at her. Manny turned slowly around.

"Hey…what are you doing here?" her tone stiffened.

"What, you are not happy to see me?" Sully asked mockingly. He opened his arms wide as if to ask Manny to give him a welcome hug. Manny remained perfectly still.

"Do I look happy?" Manny asked, her voice cold. She pointedly eyed his open arms and Sully closed his arms with a sigh. "What are you doing here, Sully? This isn't your reunion."

"I came to see my wife." He said defensively.

"Ex-wife." Manny corrected him.

"Right…can I maybe talk to you alone?" Sully asked her, eyeing Sean with disgust.

"No," Manny said, point blank, "if you have something to say to me than you can say it in front of Sean."

"So," Sully said, lowering his voice, "I've only been gone for a couple of months and you've already found a new fuck buddy? You sure don't waste any time." Sean made an attempt to get at Sully but Manny stopped him.

"Sean is not my 'fuck buddy' as you so crudely put it. He is my boyfriend." Sean had never been prouder to be called her boyfriend. "And you still haven't answered my question…what are you doing here?"

Sully hesitated. "I…I want to get back with you. Come on Manny, we had a real good thing going and you know it. I have thought about it and I want to help raise our baby."

Manny scoffed. "Excuse me, but she is my baby. And no way in hell will you help raise her! Sully, you didn't just abandon me, you abandoned this child!"

"It's part mine. I helped make it." Sully said, his tone stiff.

"Then where the hell were you throughout my whole pregnancy? God, you think because of not even ten minutes of passion that makes you her father? She is my baby and I'm going to make sure that she knows what a drunken loser her father is. Sully you are dead to me and you will have absolutely no part in her life." Manny was out of breath when she finished.

"Don't say that." Sully said threateningly. "I helped make it."

"God!" Manny screamed, "Will you stop calling her an 'it!' This child is a girl and she is mine. I swear to fucking God that you will never lay a hand on her head!" Manny yelled at him.

Sully smacked Manny hard against the side of her face. The force knocked her off balance and onto the floor. Sean lunged at Sully. He knocked him down on the floor and started beating him. Sean didn't care that he was making a huge scene.

Everyone started swarming around to see what all the commotion was. A man ran over to Manny and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked. There was something familiar about him. Manny stared.

"Yeah…I'm fine, thank you." She tried to figure out who he was. Before she could come to a conclusion, the man jumped on Sean and pulled him off of Sully. Sean tried to fight against the man and get at Sully again, but the mysterious man had a good hold on him.

"Calm down, man! Easy!" he said, tightening his grip.

"Okay, okay." Sean said, somewhat defeated. He pulled out of the man's grasp. "I'm okay."

Just then two cops grabbed Sully's arms and pulled him to his feet. They pulled Sully farther and farther away until he was out of the building.

Sean turned to Manny, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" he pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Manny said, pulling back some so she could face him. "Thank you." She added to the man.

"No problem." He said casually. He was smirking.

"Yeah," Sean said, catching on, "thank you…um…sorry, I didn't get your name?" Sean said apologetically. He was also smirking. Manny looked at both of their smirks and wondered what they knew that she didn't.

"Oh, JT Yorke." He said, full-on smiling now…hey Manny….Sean." This is what JT had been waiting for. A big smile spread across Manny's face.

"JT!" She screamed excitedly, jumping into his open arms.

Sean was laughing. "Hey JT." He said, giving him a manly handshake.

"So are you guys dating or what?" JT asked happily.

"Yeah, sort of." Manny said casually. She could not believe that she had not right away recognized him. Now that she knew the identity of her mystery rescuer, Manny could not believe how she had not seen it right away. He looked the same as always.

"But," JT said, pointing at Manny's belly, "that's Sully's…if I heard right."

"Yeah…" Manny said, her smile fading into a look of disgust. "Lets not talk about Sully. So what have you been up to?" Manny asked, practically bouncing on her swollen feet.

"I'm a gynecologist. Bet you never expected that, huh?" he joked. "But yeah, I live in New York City and I have a wife, Stacey, but she is not feeling too well right now. Also, she didn't want to leave our son alone with a baby sitter."

"Oh…" Manny said, "you have a son? That's great! Maybe our kids will end up dating or something!" Manny added.

"Ha, maybe. But yeah, his name is Jaden." JT said.

"Oh, what an interesting name!" Manny said excitedly.

"His middle name wouldn't happen to be Tiberious, would it?" Sean asked.

"Could be." JT said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh my God," Manny laughed.

"Quiet, it's a family name okay!" JT said, pretending to be upset. "So, Manny what do you do?" JT asked, changing the subject.

"I am a make up artist for Epitome Studios. I love it, I get to meet a bunch of actors, and it actually pays good." Manny said excitedly.

"Oh, yeah that sounds fun." JT said. "And I already know what Sean here does."

"Really…you've seen my work then?" Sean asked curiously.

"Are you kidding? My wife has like three photos of yours throughout our house! She was upset that she wasn't going to get to meet you!"

Sean laughed. "Wow. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone wanting to meet me." Manny nudged him in the stomach with her elbow.

"Shush." She said.

"Hey," JT said, "sorry to break this up, but I think we're supposed to go in there." He said, pointing to where a big crowd of people were filing to.


	9. Welcome Back!

After the long and many years, Mr. Dan Raditch was still the principle. He stood at the podium in the auditorium, grayer than he used to be, but beaming proudly non-the-less. JT, Sean, and Manny all sat down at the same table, one right smack dab in the center of the floor. "He's still here?" JT whispered. "God, I would have thought him dead by now!"

"JT!" Manny said, shushing him.

"Hey, I was just kidding!" JT said.

"I see you haven't lost your sense of humor." A voice said behind him.

"What?" JT said, turning around. It was his old best friend, Toby. "Hey, Toby!" JT said as he stood up from his chair. He pulled him into a friendly, but manly hug.

Toby laughed. "Hey, how are you?"

"I'm great!" JT said, sitting back down. Toby nodded.

"Hey, Sean. Hello, Manny." They both waved.

"Toby why don't you have a seat?" Sean said, pulling out the empty chair to his left.

A pretty woman behind Toby cleared her throat. "Hem…"

"Oh, sorry!" Toby said, smacking his forehead. "Guys this is my wife Kelly-Lynn."

She smiled. "Hi ya'll." Kelly-Lynn spoke with a southern accent.

"May I have your attention please?" Mr. Raditch spoke into the microphone. "Is everyone seated…? Good! Well, what can I say…welcome back Degrassi class of 2007!" Everyone started to clap loudly. "Okay, okay, first off I would like to re-introduce your former Media Immersion teacher, Mr. Archie Simpson!" Mr. Simpson stepped out onto the stage and took a bow. Sean and Manny both rose from their chairs, applauding hard.

"Thanks everyone!" he spoke, "It's so great to see you all again! First, I would like to tell you about someone that you all used to know. She should be here right now, enjoying the reunion with us, but she was taken by cancer her first year of high school. She was my step-daughter, everyone, Emma Nelson."

Sean heard a sharp intake of breath coming from Manny on his right. He looked over at her. She glanced at him, worried about where Mr. Simpson was going with this.

"Mr. Raditch and I talked about it and we decided to make a scholarship program in Emma's honor and under her name. And I thought to myself, where's a better place to kick it off then at this reunion?" Everyone started to clap again, cutting him off. "Alright, thank you. There are two people in this room tonight who were her best friends. She could have asked for better. Would Manny Santos and Sean Cameron please come on stage?"

Manny's and Sean's necks snapped around to look at each other. Manny wore a horrified expression. "I can't." She mouthed at him. Sean gave her a reassuring smile and grabbed her hand.

"Manny? Sean?" Mr. Simpson asked, hoping that he had not made a mistake. His eyes scanned around the room for them.

Sean stood up and lightly pulled Manny onto the stage. Everyone politely applauded. Manny and Sean stood shoulder-to-shoulder, facing Mr. Simpson. He beamed at the both of them. Tears were glistening in his eyes.

"You all remember Sean and Manny, right? Well, if they want, it would mean a whole lot to me if they would help me start the program by refreshing all of your memories about Emma." He stopped there.

Manny's mouth dropped wide open. She couldn't.

"So, could one of you, if you please…?" Mr. Simpson said, trying to hand the microphone to one of them.

"Alright." Sean said, taking the microphone.

"Thank you," Mr. Simpson said, clapping him on the shoulder.


	10. The Emma Nelson Scholarship Program

Sean cleared his dry throat. "Hello everyone. It's great to see you all again! As Mr. Simpson has already said, I'm Sean Cameron. And yes, I did know Emma very, very well and she meant the world to me. I dated her throughout most of junior high. There were some breaking points but they never lasted long. When I first came to Degrassi, I was basically a lost cause. And I didn't want to associate with anyone because I thought everyone here wouldn't understand me. But then I met Emma." Sean smiled to himself, pleased to be reminiscing about happy memories instead of sad ones. "I didn't know what it was about her that made me want to get to know her better…but she was the only person here that I wished to become friends with…and maybe more. I eventually asked her out on a date and we were together ever since. I loved her. Emma was the only one who ever really worked to help me become a better person. Or maybe that's not true…she was the only one that I was wanted to change for. Without her…I…I wouldn't be the man that I am today. I am a better person because of her…even now she has still inspired me in many ways." Sean finished with a small head bow.

Sean handed the microphone back to Mr. Simpson. "Thank you." Mr. Simpson said, embracing Sean in a hug. "Okay folks, that was Mr. Sean Cameron! And now here is Miss Manny Santos." He tried to hand off the mike to Manny, but she wouldn't take it.

"I can't." Manny whispered to Mr. Simpson. "I don't know what to say!"

"Please, Manny." Mr. Simpson pleaded, "It would mean so much to me and Spike."

Manny hesitated, "Okay…" Manny took the mike.

"Thank You!" Mr. Simpson said, relieved.

Manny turned to properly face the audience. "Hey all! My name is Manny Santos. Um…I was Emma's best friend since…I dunno…kindergarten? I'm pretty sure that's it. Emma really was an amazing friend…she always kept me in line and sane!" Manny laughed, remembering her past life. Sean smiled at her. She seemed to be easing into it. "Emma loved everything about the environment…the trees…the animals…pollution and the ozone layer…just everything! I loved her so much. To this day, Emma probably still remains the one person that I have ever had the greatest honor to call my best friend. No one will ever replace her. I can't help but wonder how my life would be different if she had beaten the cancer. She was so strong…but," Manny was losing herself in her grief.

She couldn't take anymore. Tears were burning her eyes and throat. Manny quickly handed the microphone back to Mr. Simpson and turned around. She hit right into Sean. He put his arms around her and led her off stage.

"It alright…" Sean said, soothingly, calming her down. "Lets just go sit down."

"Okay," Manny wiped her eyes clear of tears. "Okay." Sean led her back to their table.

Mr. Simpson continued with his presentation as if Manny had not just had a break down in front of the whole reunion. Sean felt that was best so it distracted everyone from the weeping Manny.

"So…you've heard from Emma's two best friends. I hope that was enjoyable for you…Now…I guess that there is nothing left to do but present the $2,000 scholarship to one of these five seniors!"

Two boys and three girls walked out onto the stage. Mr. Simpson pulled a decorative envelope out of his pocket. "Sean, would you please?"

Sean glanced at Manny and then nodded at Mr. Simpson. He walked over and climbed onto the stage. Mr. Simpson handed Sean the envelope and he ripped it open.

"And the very first recipient of the Emma Nelson scholarship fund is…" he looked down the row of students. The fifth girl at the end gave Sean a cute smile. She suddenly washed away and Emma appeared in her place. Sean's eyes widened. He was lost for words except…

"Emma…" he said. Emma stood there, smiling at him. "Emma?"

"Sean." Mr. Simpson said, appearing at his side. "What's wrong? Just read the name."

Sean shook his head and was out of his funk. Emma had disappeared and the previous girl stood there once again.

"Sorry. The winner is Rachelle Jacobs." The room filled with applause. Sean clapped politely and watched the girl who he had misinterpreted for Emma step forward.


End file.
